DESCRIPTION: This meeting, Molecular Aspects of Viral Immunity, will examine the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of effective immune responses against viral infections. The regulation, induction, manipulation, and subversion of these responses will be discussed. Prevention of infections, persistence vs. clearance of virus from diverse organ sites, and infection-associated pathology will be considered. The roles of both innate and specific immunity will be discussed. Controversial topics such as the dynamics of viral-specific memory will be debated. Disease mechanisms associated with emerging viruses will be included. These investigations will ultimately lead to the emergence of paradigms which can result in improved human and animal health. This meeting is multidisciplinary, bringing together investigators working on basic and applied aspects of viral immunity as well as clinically relevant topics. The last Molecular Aspects of Viral Immunity meeting was in January, 1995. In the past, many students and postdoctoral fellows participated with posters and workshop presentations of their investigations. Among the invited speakers are two 1996 Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine, 5 foreign investigators, as well as representatives of academic, Federal, and industrial laboratories.